An Internship with Google
Lower Ogechi Nwankwoala spent her summer doing more than just enjoying the sunshine. She participated in an internship with Google that she found through Prep for Prep and Prep 9 Students, a program based in New York which prepares minority students for the challenging academics of independent schools. The internship was called IFE—Institute for Entrepreneurship, which partnered with Google. For four weeks, five days a week, Nwankwoala attended a class at New York University to learn about starting a business. The goal of the internship was to “create a business plan and present it to people who work at Google in hopes of winning and getting money to start your business,” said Nwankwoala.
“This internship has changed me because I have learned that if you’re confident and you present yourself as confident than people will want to listen to you.”
Each night, the interns worked on their business plans and prepared presentations that they would eventually present to the Google judges. “We went to a business incubator called Matter to talk to a Prep for Prep alumnus who was working on his business there. He gave us tips on how to make our business plan more clear,” Nwankwoala said. She also had the opportunity to work with a mentor from Google. One of the most memorable experiences, though, was when the group visited NASDAQ in Times Square with Dale Alsopp, a Prep for Prep alumnus and Google employee, where they were invited to stand with him as he rung the closing bell for the stock market. “This experience was particularly fun because we were on TV and our faces were broadcasted on the NASDAQ building and a board in the middle of Times Square,” Nwankwoala said.
The internship concluded when the interns presented their business plans to the judges and a winner was appointed. Though she did not win, Nwankwoala valued the internship as an educational summer experience. “This internship has changed me because I have learned that if you’re confident and you present yourself as confident than people will want to listen to you.” She shared that she participated in the internship to provide a helpful and worthwhile summer experience even though she doesn’t necessarily plan to go into business when she’s older.
Aside from interning, Nwankwoala went on a retreat to Bryn Mawr College with students from the Prep 9 program who also attend boarding school. While there, they stayed in dorms and visited Dorney Park. “We also had sessions where we talked about our boarding school experiences and life experiences,” said Nwankwoala. When she didn’t have plans, Nwankwoala went to Manhattan with her friends, where they went to Washington Square Park, Central Park, Shake Shack and others. Nwankwoala attended multiple weddings and birthday parties throughout the summer which were hosted by Nigerians.
“I went to “traditional” weddings where you get married how weddings are in Nigeria and then you have the other wedding later with the white dress and church ceremony and all that…there are a lot of cultural aspects like the different music and dancing and throwing of money,” she said.
As the exciting summer came to an end, Nwankwoala spent time watching soccer on the weekends with her dad. It’s a tradition they are carrying on from last summer, as she said, “we did that a lot before I went off to Exeter.”